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33 Then the Jewish leaders said to Jesus: ‘The disciples of John the Baptist often choose to fast for a time. Then they can pray to God a lot. The disciples of the Pharisees also do that. But your disciples never do that. They continue to eat and drink every day.’[a]

34 Jesus answered them, ‘When a man marries a wife, you cannot stop his friends from eating. They will continue to eat while he is with them. 35 But there will be a time when people take that man away from his friends. Then they will decide to fast.’[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 5:33 John the Baptist and the Pharisees taught the people rules about prayer. They taught them to fast sometimes, so that they would have time to pray.
  2. 5:35 Jesus is teaching that his disciples will be happy while he is still with them. But he will not always be with them. Then they will be sad and they may choose to fast.